The right restaurant staffing software can make an enormous difference in how you manage your business.
Restaurants rely heavily on their staff. Yet, efficiently managing staff is one of the most difficult tasks for any restaurant manager.
Restaurants include multiple teams which span various shifts throughout the day. Staff are always changing, and shifts are always different. This means you need to have a very clear system in place for how you will manage staff and stay on top of their shifts and hours worked.
Restaurant staffing software can do all of this and more.
In this guide, we’ll explore exactly what you need to consider when choosing the right staffing solution for your restaurant.
What is Restaurant Staffing Software?
Restaurant staffing software refers to solutions designed to streamline and manage staffing operations in restaurants and the hospitality industry. This generally includes employee scheduling software, shift management tools, time and attendance tracking software, labor cost tools, and more.
As restaurants often have large staff numbers, with different staff members working across different daily shifts, managing staff requires a lot of time and effort. By using the right employee scheduling solution, restaurants can improve staffing efficiency, save time, and improve the profitability of their operations.
Many employee management tools use automation to handle time-consuming repetitive tasks. Employee management software also offers valuable insights into your restaurant’s staffing and performance, to help restaurant managers make more informed decisions about staff.
It’s also possible for restaurant staffing software to include a wider range of HR tools - like tools for payroll management and managing employment compliance.
Some restaurant scheduling software tools focus on one main function - like managing shifts or tracking time. Other tools provide an all-in-one approach for complete employee management.
Why is the Right Restaurant Staffing Software so Important?
Having the right restaurant staffing software in place offers many benefits to restaurant businesses.
First and foremost, restaurant scheduling software can save significant time and effort. By automating manual tasks and helping restaurant managers make faster, more informed decisions, these software tools make managing restaurant employees a lot easier.
If the restaurant employee scheduling platform includes added HR functions, you can also use it to do things like streamline your hiring process, track employee schedules for payroll, and maintain compliance with labor laws and regulations.
Beyond the fact that it makes restaurant employee scheduling a lot easier, restaurant staffing software also helps improve the employee experience. By offering a user-friendly interface and self-service features, employees can manage their schedules, communicate with their coworkers, and request time off a lot more efficiently. This helps boost staff satisfaction and engagement.
And by using shift scheduling software that employees can access, your restaurant promotes transparency for a more positive work environment.
Finally, this software can also help with labor cost management. Many restaurant employee scheduling software solutions can understand a restaurant’s staffing demands and optimize staff scheduling for maximum efficiency. This can help restaurants reduce unnecessary staffing costs while ensuring their staff schedule is always managed correctly. This can help boost the overall profitability of any restaurant.
Top Restaurant Staffing Software Features to Consider
There are many different restaurant workforce management platforms to consider - each one offering unique features and abilities.
While different platforms work in their own ways, there are a few essential features that any restaurant staff management solution should include. Let’s break these down.
Employee Scheduling
Most scheduling software solutions focus on employee scheduling as their main feature. The best restaurant scheduling software solutions should provide advanced scheduling abilities, allowing you to manage, update, and create employee schedules with ease.
This should typically involve a calendar-types interface where you can set up employee shifts, drag-and-drop shifts, and set up recurring shifts as you need them.
Shift scheduling can be optimized with alerts and notifications in case of any changes. Ideally, the scheduling software will also provide insights into your restaurant’s busiest times. This will make it much easier for any restaurant manager to accurately schedule employee shifts.
Time and Attendance Tracking
Integrated time-tracking software is an important feature for any restaurant staffing platform. This helps you measure employee attendance and accurately record the hours each employee worked. If you’re paying employees an hourly rate, this accurate time-tracking solution is important for your restaurant operations.
Some employee scheduling software platforms include features like timesheet management, simple clock-in and clock-out functions, and automated break and overtime calculations. Ideally, this will integrate with your restaurant payroll software for easy use.
Labor Cost Optimization
As mentioned earlier, the right restaurant scheduling software can help you optimize labor costs. This is achieved by providing insights and analytics on labor expenses and shift trends.
Platforms can include tools for tracking labor budgets, forecasting labor needs, and generating shift reports that highlight labor costs. All of this can help restaurant owners make more informed decisions about restaurant staffing, which can help restaurants save money.
Shift Management and Swapping
Restaurant scheduling software should also provide tools for easy shift management. This should include the ability to assign, swap, and reassign shifts.
The best restaurant scheduling software includes this to make it easier for employees to swap shifts between themselves for more effective shift management. The software will also include features for manager approval and notifications of shift changes.
Availability Management
To make it easier to manage teams, restaurant staffing software should allow employees to input their availability and request time off through the system. This includes a clear process that managers can use to review and approve requests, to make sure there is always proper staff coverage.
Having a self-service system for employees makes it easier for staff to manage their time, while also making managing shifts and time-off requests more efficient.
Team Communication Tools
Team communication is a big part of restaurant staffing software. Some platforms include built-in communication features to make it easy for staff and managers to get in touch with each other. This makes communication more organized and means there’s one dedicated channel for all staffing requests.
Restaurant scheduling software can also include notifications around shifts, as well as updates or announcements that managers can send to teams.
Integrations
The best restaurant scheduling software should integrate with the restaurant management software your business uses. This includes your payroll software, your POS system, and any HR tools your restaurant uses.
With integration, you can seamlessly transfer data between the different platforms. This helps you save time and effort while improving accuracy around managing your staff.
What to Look for in Restaurant Staffing Software
Now that you understand what your restaurant scheduling software can do, there are a couple of other things to keep in mind when choosing the best solution for your business.
Here are some key considerations to keep in mind.
User-Friendly Interface
The best restaurant staffing software is easy to use - for both restaurant managers and employees.
Make sure the system is straightforward to understand. This will help you get maximum value from the software. It will also make it faster to navigate and use the platform during busy shifts.
Comprehensive Features
There’s a lot that restaurant staffing software can do. The best restaurant scheduling software should include a wide range of features to help your business access maximum value.
Some staffing solutions only include a small handful of features, but this could limit how much the software makes your life easier. Look for a platform that covers multiple tools and functions to help you do more.
Mobile Accessibility
Restaurant staffing software that comes with a mobile app can make your life a lot easier. Using a mobile app means the software is more accessible for restaurant owners and employees. This can help you manage staff requests or access staff insights on the move.
Scalability
Restaurant employee scheduling platforms must be able to handle the demands of your business.
If you run multiple locations, then make sure you use a platform that can work across these different locations. If your team is growing, then ensure the platform can easily add new staff members.
Whenever investing in software for your restaurant, considering scalability is always a good idea. This will help you invest in a solution that provides more long-term value.
Price
Of course, price is always an important consideration when choosing a software tool.
While you want something affordable, it’s also important to weigh up the different features you get and how much the platform costs. A more extensive and expensive solution could end up being more affordable than using multiple software tools.
At the same time, you don’t want to pay for features that your business won’t use. So, make sure that whatever platform you choose offers the best value for your business needs.
Conclusion
As staff plays such a critical role in restaurant operations, it’s essential to use the right platform to manage them.
With the best restaurant staffing software in place, you’ll be able to control shifts, staff hours, and communication a lot more easily. This can help you optimize all kinds of areas of your business.
If your restaurant serves as an event venue, you should consider using venue management software. Try Perfect Venue for free today.
